Check out our complete guide on How to Grow Magic Mushrooms easily in your home garden, that too in a small space!
Growing Psilocybin or Magic mushrooms is easy if you take care of the humidity and moisture by providing favorable conditions. Let’s look at How to Grow Magic Mushrooms and learn everything about Harvesting Magic Mushrooms.
Table of contents
Botanical Name: Psilocybin cubensis
Other Names: Shrooms, Gold caps, Golden tops, Golden teacher, Mexican mushroom
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Why Do People Grow Magic Mushrooms?
Entering into the world of home mushroom cultivation can become a bit overwhelming. Let’s have a look at How to Grow Magic Mushrooms!
- Learning How to Grow Magic Mushrooms can tap into the therapeutic gains of ecotherapy.
- Small clinical trialshave illustrated that 1-2 doses of psilocybincan have a long-lasting and dramatic impact on people suffering from a depressive disorder. Especially the ones that do not work well with conventional antidepressants.
- Psilocybin which gets converted into a chemical with psychoactive elements called psilocin in the intestine, has shown promising potential in treating anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, cluster headaches, anxiety,and many forms of substance abuse.
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History of Magic Mushrooms
According to the rock paintings and sculptures of North African culture, magic mushrooms were used long back in 9000 B.C. People started consuming them on a large scale by 1950. They contain psilocybin, a psychedelic compound that creates hallucinations and euphoria.
For this reason, they are listed in CSA (Schedule 1 drugs) in the United States. However, magic mushrooms have less potential for offense than other Schedule 1 drugs and are more potent in medicinal and cultural uses.
You may find psilocybin mushrooms throughout Northern South America and the Southeastern United States. They also grow throughout Thailand, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia.
If all this information tempts you into cultivating them, then continue reading to learn more about How to Grow Magic Mushrooms!
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How to Identify Magic Mushrooms?
Most of these tiny brown mushrooms look nearly the same, so how do you know the divine from the poisonous?
It is difficult to figure out among several mushroom species in the psilocybe genus as almost all of them resemble each other. They grow with a reddish-brown cap and a whitish-yellow stem. When crushed, the color may change to blue, and you can identify these species by this sign as well.
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Mushroom Poisoning: A Word of Caution
Mushroom poisoning can be highly deadly, and it is crucial to exercise the best caution when picking or handling mushrooms.
So, before you proceed to learn How to Grow Magic Mushrooms, it is best for you to know that you should never consume or pick the mushroom directly. This is unless you are 100% sure that they are safe to be picked or consumed.
Do not make any direct hand-to-mouth connection after handling mushrooms every time. It can cause an introduction to poisonous or harmful toxins into your body. Always wear protective gear such as masks and hand gloves while handling mushrooms.
Whenever unsure about the mushroom, you should consult an expert before tasting or handling them with bare hands and face.
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How to Grow Magic Mushrooms?
1. Propagating Through Spores
Not sure How to Grow Magic Mushrooms? Well, propagating via spores is the simplest way to do it.
- Cut the stems of the magic mushroom and place them on a clean piece of wax paper, keeping the caps upside-down.
- Then, cover the caps with a cup and let them rest for 24-30 hours.
- Next, take a wide clean plastic container and fill it with nutrient-rich soil. You can make it yourself by mixing equal parts of peat moss, sterile compost, and potting soil.
- Transfer the spores carefully to the container and cover the top with a transparent cellophane layer.
- Make 8-10 holes in plastic wrap to allow enough airflow in the growing pot, and mist the soil with water as they flourish in humidity.
2. Propagating through Mushroom Ends
If you want to know about another method of How to Grow Magic Mushrooms, follow these easy steps:
- For this, you need healthy mushrooms. Remove the caps from the stems and cut them into small pieces.
- Take a plastic container, and place some shredded cardboard, straw, or sawdust.
- Now spread the end pieces and layer them with the growing medium until the container is full.
- Cover the box with plastic or cellophane and poke enough holes to allow airflow.
- Keep the soil and mycelium damp by misting regularly. Also, maintain a temperature of 65-75°F or 18-23°C by placing the pot in the dark.
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Requirements for How to Grow Magic Mushrooms
To learn How to Grow Magic Mushrooms successfully, you need to ensure the right growing conditions as mentioned below:
Location
Mushrooms do not need as much sunlight, as other plants, for growth and food. Thus, the best place to grow them is a basem*nt or any dark, cool area, as darkness retains moisture that their spores use for reproduction.
The sunlight only can warm up the soil for the mushrooms but does not directly help them to grow.
Soil
Magic mushrooms prefer to grow around decaying, dead and burned-down trees. The nutrients released by the leaf litter and dying trees create the kind of loamy soil that these mushrooms need to thrive.
Peat moss, wood ash, wood chips, and sand are desirable soil additives for growing magic mushrooms. Many growers even have succeeded in growing them near a tree stump.
Alternatively, mix decaying wood chips from elm or oak tree to amend the soil for best growth.
Water
Constant moisture is essential for a mushroom’s growth. Your magic mushroom growing space needs to have the same moisture level as that of a wrung-out sponge.
Temperature
The ideal temperature for growing magic mushrooms is 65-75°F or 18-24°C. Keep them away from the cool breeze and dry air, as it can kill or restrict them from growing.
Humidity
Just like all fungi, mushrooms also flourish in moist climates. Hence they need damp and humid growing media, such as compost or manure. Also, mist the soil to maintain the humidity and moisture level over 60 percent.
If you are learning about How to Grow Magic Mushrooms, you should know that the cooler evenings with clouds and scattered rain can extend the growing and harvesting period. It also means that whenever the season is hot and dry, mushrooms can wither away quickly.
Fertilizer
Good soil in itself can be sufficient for growing mushrooms. Moreover, you can add leaf mold, wood ash, and, compost manure for the best enrichments.
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Harvesting Magic Mushrooms
So, now that you have learned all you need to know about How to Grow Magic Mushrooms, it is time for you to know Harvesting Magic Mushrooms.
When to Harvest Magic Mushrooms?
Knowing the right time for Harvesting Magic Mushrooms is important. Observe the thin membrane on the underside of the cap called the veil.
It keeps the spores in the mushroom, and when it is mature, the veil tears out. Then, the spores are released and ready to reproduce in the next generation.
Harvesting Magic Mushrooms on time also means the product is easy for your stomach to digest.
Harvesting Magic Mushrooms can be easily done in easy steps:
- Sterilize all your equipment first before harvesting. It is going to prevent any contamination.
- You can harvest mushrooms when the veil below the caps is broken or just before.
- After three weeks of growth, the first batch of the mushroom is going to be ready for harvesting, and the second can be collected after 8-10 days.
